


The Prat and The Idiot

by boywholivednotdied



Series: Merthur Party 2013 [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 02:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boywholivednotdied/pseuds/boywholivednotdied
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur's never been too fond of Gwaine, and no one is sure why...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prat and The Idiot

**Author's Note:**

> A one-shot based off the second prompt for Merthur Party.

“Shut up, Gwaine!” Merlin’s laugh rang out across the woods and I smiled despite myself. There’s something intoxicating about his laugh. About him in general, really. I don’t know what it is. He’s one of those rare people who have this overwhelming internal warmness to them that you just can’t ignore. The knights and I can vouch for the fact that the more you get to know him, the more you realize how exceptional he is.  
  
I remember when I first met him. I didn’t think there was anything special about him then. Though I did have a crush on him, so maybe subconsciously I knew there was something. But he seemed normal. Simple and scrawny with scruffy hair and an eager, wide-eyed expression. That expression is gone now… but that’s probably because of Arthur. Last week I saw him throw a boot at Merlin. _A boot_. No wonder all the naivety has been knocked out of that boy.  
  
“You were!” Gwaine was saying, laughing, “You were so deep in the bushes, I didn’t even realize you were hiding there until you coughed!”  
  
“I wasn’t hiding!” Merlin insisted, “I tripped on a tree root… honestly.”  
  
“Stop being embarrassed by it, Merlin. You didn’t have a sword. If I had nothing to defend myself with, I’d be hiding too.” Gwaine said, slapping him good-naturedly on the back. Merlin opened his mouth as if to retort, but immediately closed it. He does that a lot. It’s odd. Like there are several things he wants to tell us, but can’t.  
  
“I wasn’t hiding though,” he mumbled.  
  
Gwaine prodded his right cheek and Merlin smiled, his dimple appearing. Gwaine’s face broke out into a devilish grin. “You looked like a scared little rabbit.”  
  
“Oh, shut up.” Merlin repeated, laughing again.  
  
“It’s a compliment. Rabbits are very cute.”  
  
The tips of Merlin’s ears turned bright red and he quickly focused all his attention on the rock he was playing with. I heard a mutter from beside me and I turned towards it in surprise. I didn’t realize Arthur was still awake! He had been sitting next to Gwaine during dinner, but moved next to me so that he could sleep under the tree. He was lying down in his bedroll when I last turned to check on him, but right now he was sitting it in, lounging against the tree, his arms crossed tightly across his chest.  
  
“Arthur?” I asked, “Is everything alright?”  
  
“Yes, it’s fine.” he muttered, “The ground is just extremely uncomfortable. I hate sleeping in the woods.”  
  
I nodded, but said nothing. He’d been grumpy all day. Admittedly, I knew why. He hated Gwaine’s company.  
  
I was surprised when I first realized it… still am, a little. How can _anyone_ hate Gwaine’s company? He’s funny, chatty, loyal… and well, yes, maybe I’m a little biased because he’s also exceedingly attractive. Maybe that is it. I’m positive even Arthur in all his obliviousness can tell how attractive Gwaine is. Maybe it irritates him. After all, he’s used to getting attention from girls for his looks. Perhaps he doesn’t like to share that attention. Or maybe he doesn’t like Gwaine’s brash jokes and talkative nature.  
  
Deep inside, I’ve always sort of hoped that Arthur’s distaste for Gwaine was because he saw him flirting with me on the first day he arrived in Camelot. I doubt it, but you never know, right? Well, whatever it was… Arthur had never quite warmed up to our new friend.  
  
The night was getting colder and somehow, over the course of the evening, Gwaine and Merlin had drawn even closer together, their cheerful expressions lit by the red glow of the fire. I lay down in my bed roll, shifting to avoid the stones and the noisy leaves. So far we had already faced bandits and a wolf, so I fervently hoped tomorrow’s journey would go smoother. Tomorrow night we should be in Mercia though, so at least we would get a break from sleeping in the woods.  
  
I don’t quite know why Arthur brought me along. He said something about enjoying my company, and how he needed someone to cook food for them while in the kingdom. Which made some sense, since we weren’t going to be staying in Bayard’s castle. We were on a secret mission to locate a woman in the town of Belgit who supposedly had the only available cure for a new unnamed disease that had been spreading through Camelot. Arthur wanted to lay low and buy the medicine off her in secret, so that Bayard wouldn’t assume his presence in the kingdom meant he was plotting an attack. However, a part of me knew that there was another reason he brought me along. Merlin knows how to cook. Granted, my food is better, but the point is that they would have been fine without me. Call me crazy, but it did seem like Arthur had an ulterior motive for asking to me come along.  
  
Arthur stood up, the crackle of the leaves startling both Merlin and Gwaine.  
  
“One of you can sleep,” Arthur instructed, “I’ll take the first watch.”  
  
“It’s alright, sire.” Merlin said, smiling, “We’ve got it.”  
  
“Oh I can see that.” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “The two of you are so deep in conversation, a bear could maul you and you wouldn’t even notice.” He shoved his sword into the mud behind Merlin. “I’m not putting my life in the hands of you two idiots. I’ll take the first watch.”  
  
“I’ll sit up with you.” Gwaine offered.  
  
“No,” Arthur said, bluntly. “You go to sleep.”  
  
Gwaine's surprised expression changed to a dirty look as he stood up and walked over to his bag. He looked over at me as he unrolled his bedroll and I sent him an apologetic smile. While the _reason_ Arthur didn’t like Gwaine was a mystery, the fact that he didn’t like him was common knowledge. So much so that even the usually unobservant Gwaine was aware of it.  
  
“What was that all about?” I thought I heard Merlin hiss, “What is the matter with you today?”  
  
“I was trying to sleep and you two were gabbing like old maids,” Arthur grumbled.  
  
“You’re a prat.”  
  
“I’m your king.”  
  
“Alright, you’re a _royal_ prat, then.”  
  
Merlin huffed and leaned against a large rock and Arthur exhaled loudly.  
  
Gwaine pulled his bedroll up beside mine.  
  
“Arthur doesn’t like me much, does he?” he asked, settling down under the covers.  
  
“Arthur doesn’t like change,” I said, sighing, “You’ve come and integrated yourself into our little group. He feels… threatened, that’s all.”  
  
“Threatened?” Gwaine laughed disbelievingly, “By what?”  
  
“You have the talent to be a knight yet you’re not, which brings you closer to the commoners.” I reasoned. “Because of his upbringing, Arthur has always felt at a distance from them. But you.. you have skill and the friendship of the peasants. He wants what you have.”  
  
That’s what I thought the reason was, anyway.  
  
Gwaine nodded thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right.” He smiled, “Thanks Gwen.”  
  
“Anytime.”  
  
I gazed up at the stars and let the exhaustion from the day finally overpower me.

 

It was pitch dark when I woke up desperately needing to go. I contemplated waking Gwaine up, but I didn’t want him standing around as I… well, did my business. Arthur and Merlin weren’t asleep, so they must have still been taking watch. I’d probably be safe if I didn’t wander too far. I snuck over to the tree next to the large one where we’d made camp and quietly did what I had to. I was tiptoeing back when I heard whispers.  
  
“You’re _still_ upset with me?”  
  
It was unmistakably Arthur’s voice - prideful, hurt… a tone which made my heart wrench.  
  
“Oh, you got that after an hour of me giving you the silent treatment, did you?” Merlin asked, dryly.  
  
I still couldn’t see either of them, but I could tell they were close by.  
  
“He was bothering me. I didn’t like the way he was… I just don’t like him, alright?”  
  
“Why?” Merlin demanded, “He’s saved your life so many times, Arthur. He’s been nothing but nice to you.”  
  
“Alright, I _do_ like him. I just don’t like…” Arthur sighed. Expressing himself had always been difficult for him, “The way he talks.”  
  
“Oh right, and _how_ does he talk, exactly?”  
  
“He just chatters non-stop. And all nonsense too.”  
  
Merlin sighed irritably. “Well, _I_ enjoy his company. You don’t have to.”  
  
“I do enjoy his company… but..” Arthur made a strangled noise, “I just… can’t stand the two of you… together.”  
  
_What?_  
  
“What?” Merlin asked, sounding as confused as I felt, “What do you mean?”  
  
“What do you think I mean?” Arthur said, hotly.  
  
“I honestly don’t know.”  
  
“You’re an idiot.”  
  
“Well at least I’m not a dollophead.”  
  
“You _are_ a dollophead.”  
  
“Not as much as you.”  
  
“Oh, shut up Merlin.”  
  
And suddenly there was silence… broken only by a sharp gasp and what sounded like a soft moan.  
  
What was going on? My eyes were starting to adjust, and I could see the vague outlines of two heads together. I started to creep silently towards them, but I accidentally stepped on a leaf that crackled. The heads split apart.  
  
“Who goes there?” Arthur demanded, “Show yourself.”  
  
“It’s just me… Gwen.” I whispered.  
  
As I got closer, I noticed that something was off. Both their faces were flushed, their hair mussed. Merlin had the ghost of a goofy grin of his face, just as Arthur had the ghost of a smug one.  
  
“Is… everything alright?” I asked.  
  
Arthur nodded trying to seem brusque, but coming across a little embarrassed. “Of course. Are you alright?”  
  
“Yes. I just got up to… well, you know.”  
  
He nodded and then coughed, “You should… um.. go back to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us.”  
  
“What about you? Aren’t you tired?”  
  
“I’ll be alright,” he promised. He looked at Merlin, a little sheepishly. “We’ll both be.”  
  
“Don’t do that again, Gwen.” Merlin said, admonishingly, “Creeping up on us like that… you almost gave us a heart attack.”  
  
“I’m sorry.” I said, quickly, “I won’t do it again.” I looked from his glowing face to Arthur’s. “Are you sure you two are alright?”  
  
“Absolutely positive,” Arthur said, smiling.


End file.
